Australia Is Not Far Behind Me !

I went to Australia for two weeks this year from February 7th-21st, 2008 and I loved pretty much every minute of it except for the times when the heat combined with exhaustion from traveling got the best of me. That only happened a couple of times. The rest was pretty much smooth sailing as all I had to do was represent myself and my wine store in Cleveland Park, Washington D.C. I had to perform from time to time , actually lots of the time. But there were plenty of times afforded to me to observe and take in all that was going on around me. I did it partly by taking photographs, writing and drawing.

We did not have to do any driving or other activities besides go along for the ride and the events. There was a constant slide show of events for us in which we played some of the central characters. This suited us fine. It was nice to be there with just one other person and to have this all being done for us. It was a wine trip. We were there to visit the wineries and anything else that they cared to show us.

I am telling you all this because I am now ankle deep in a story of our two weeks there in Australia. I'm still only on our second day of being in Australia and already on page thirty-five or so. Good lord! When will it end ?!? I'm going to have fun with this. I'm going to really write about this trip and what I saw and what I felt and did and what it has come to represent for me now three months after our return. I took 833 pictures while there. I'm really pleased with a number of them. I intend to download many of them shortly onto this blog to share with you all.

So, along with the countless other things I want to share, including reconnecting with my Portuguese roots I now include Australia. It was grand! It went from being a caricature in my mind to being a real place with real people that I got to see in their own settings ( not just the wine store's ) and I gained a real respect and admiration for these mostly humble, hard-working wine makers and owners. They aren't arrogant about what they are doing : they are just trying to survive ina saturated and difficult market and find a place for their wines so that they can continue to do what they love : have their dreams realized. That's admirable. I liked what I saw
and was permitted to see close-up and behind the scenes. Thanks. TONY